Harry Potter HBO Max Series Doesn’t Involve Franchise Director
The Harry Potter franchise director with the most films under his belt is not involved in the upcoming series debuting on HBO Max.
David Yates, who directed the last four movies in the film series (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007), Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) and Deathly Hallows Part One and Two (2010 and 2011)), as well as all three releases in the Fantastic Beasts trilogy, told Deadline: “We haven’t had a conversation since we finished [Secrets of Dumbledore]”.
The Harry Potter Max TV series will revisit all of the books over the course of a proposed decade-long series. It will do it without Yates, however, who has had his fill of magic for now.
“It’s been about ‘Let’s just park it, and be done for a while'. I’m excited about moving on, I loved making Pain Hustlers. I have other projects on my desk, which are a million miles away from wizards and involved all sorts of things which are non-wizard associated.”
Despite being a key figure in a franchise grossing over $9 billion worldwide, Yates is moving onto other things. His next movie, Pain Hustlers, is based on Evan Hughes’ book The Hard Sell: Crime and Punishment at an Opioid Start-Up, and sees a mother embroiled in a criminal conspiracy after getting a job at a bankrupt pharmacy
Still, when asked about potentially coming aboard the Harry Potter Max series, Yates says: “Never say never.”
The series is expected to air 2025/2026. Yates isn't the only notable absence, however. Daniel Radcliffe won’t return for new Harry Potter series.
